The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) is facing an uphill task in winning the support of the country's 25 million people and at the same time not antagonizing the Americans, who now are the real masters of the war-torn country.  

Supporters argue that it is a step in the right direction to fill the political and security vacuum left over by the dramatic downfall of the regime of Saddam Hussein, who ruled Iraq almost single-handed for nearly 25 years in succession.

The US-hand-picked council is composed of 13 Shiites, five Sunnis, five Kurds, one Christian and one Turkman, roughly reflecting Iraq's religious and ethnic make-up.

On the other hand, critics say that it lacks real legislative powers which remain in the hands of the head of the provisional coalition authority, Paul Bremer, the de-facto ruler of Iraq.  

Opposition to the IGC stems mainly from those political, tribal and ethnic organizations which were not represented in it.  

Since the interim council was inaugurated three weeks ago, almost no day passes without one of the organizations coming out with a statement or another expressing reservation or even outright opposition to it.

Its failure to select one to act as its chairman gave fuel to the critics who are unsatisfied with the council's performance so far.

The 25-member council decided, after heated debate behind closed doors, on a new formula of nine-man presidency which observers see as a bad omen for the executive body.

They fear the representatives could hardly achieve real unanimity with the rotating system and the presidents are easy to serve the interests of their own factions.

One of the prominent outspoken critics of the council is Muqtadaal-Sadr, a Najaf-based young Shiite cleric. He has a wide spectrum of followers, especially among young Shiite Muslims in the 2million al-Sadr township, an eastern suburb of Baghdad.  

His father, Muhammed Sadiq al-Sadr, was believed to be killed together with two of his sons in 1999 by Saddam on suspicion of fomenting opposition against the defunct Baathist regime.  

In the name of his father, the 30-year-old lad is leading a vehement campaign to discourage any cooperation or contacts with the US forces in Iraq.

In order to win over the Iraqi public opinion and discredit its critics, analysts believe the IGC needs to achieve tangible results in restoring law and order and the basic services such as power and water. It also should start the costly and hard task of reconstruction as soon.

In a positive sign, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the first IGC president, said on Tuesday that security issue in Iraq was one of the council's priorities.

"We want crimes to be fought by Iraqis, and we do not have a problem in this field," he told the Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV channel.

He also voiced his hope that the "limited authorities given to the council by the Americans... will not be an obstacle for it to achieve" the goal of restoring security.

"Not all that is said by the Americans is fixed," he affirmed, saying the council is seeking to shorten the period of occupation by American troops.

In addition to security, providing services like electricity, water and communication is a necessity too, he assured.  

However such important tasks do need the blessing of the United States, the dominant power in Iraq now, whose priorities in Iraq seem still undecided.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2003)